Unchurched America Has Changed Little in 20 Years

Unchurched America Has Changed Little in 20 Years

by Michael Lindsay

GALLUP NEWS SERVICE

PRINCETON, NJ -- Approximately two in five adults (44%) are
considered to be "unchurched" in America today, a percentage which
has changed little over the last two decades. The number of
Americans who are without a church membership or have not attended
regular services within the last six months -- 44%, according to a
1998 Gallup poll -- is the same percentage recorded a decade
earlier in 1988, and is only slightly higher than the percentage of
the population recorded in 1978 (41%).

In general, the unchurched are more likely to be men (50%,
compared with 39% of women), and less than 30 years of age (49%).
People living in the West also have a greater propensity to be
unchurched; 52% fall into this category. People living in the
South, as well as those who live in rural environments, are more
apt either to be members of a church or to attend a religious
service aside from special occasions.

Race represents one of the areas of sharpest divergence on the
matter of church participation. Almost one in two whites (45%) are
classified as unchurched, but the figure drops to below one in
three (32%) among blacks in this country. However, the greatest
divergence appears among ideological subcultures of the American
population. Whereas 55% of liberals in this country dissociate
themselves from a church, only 35% of conservatives fall into the
same category.

Gallup findings on the percentage of Americans in this country
who are classified as "unchurched" are based on two primary
questions that have been asked over the past three decades. First,
Gallup asks respondents, "Are you, yourself, a member of a church
or synagogue?" A second question is then asked: "Apart from
weddings, funerals, or special holidays such as Christmas, Easter,
or Yom Kippur, have you attended the church or synagogue of your
choice in the past six months, or not?" In order for an individual
to be regarded as "churched," the person must respond affirmatively
to both questions. All others -- meaning those who answer
negatively to either or both questions -- are considered to be
"unchurched."

A full review of the spiritual pulse of the nation is available
in Gallup's newest publication,Surveying the Religious
Landscape(Morehouse, 1999) by George H. Gallup, Jr., and D.
Michael Lindsay. It is available for purchase through the Gallup
website or at your local bookstore.

Detailed Findings
Demographic profile of the "unchurched." Note: The unchurched are
defined as those who are not members of a church, or who have not
attended services in the previous six months other than for special
religious holidays, weddings, funerals, or the like.